The invention relates to a shielded electrical connector comprising an insulating front housing part and a plurality of juxtaposed contact lamellas, said contact lamellas having a mating contact portion received in the front housing part, an intermediate portion molded into insulating material, as well as a rear contact portion extending away from said intermediate portion, and a shield being provided between the intermediate portions of the contact lamellas as well as on the outsides in the region of the intermediate portions.
Such a shielded electrical connector is known e.g. from EP 0 560 550 B1.
The shield for reducing crosstalk is realized in said connector by sheet metal shielding plates inserted between the intermediate portions of the contact lamellas as well as by sheet metal shielding plates on the outsides in the region of the intermediate portions.
The shielding plates inserted between the intermediate portions have the disadvantage that the dimensions of the connector are increased thereby and that the number of parts in assembling the connector is increased considerably. In particular in case of shielded connectors with a multiplicity of contact lamellas (cf. e.g. FIG. 1 of EP 0 560 550B1), the shielding plates to be inserted between the intermediate portions cause an enormous increase in assembly expenditure.
It is thus the object of the invention to develop the shielded connector according to the generic clause so as to simplify manufacture and reduce the assembly expenditure.
According to the invention, this object is met in that
a) the intermediate portions of the contact lamellas are received in a rear housing part, and
b) the intermediate portions in said rear housing part are separated from each other via continuous walls, and
c) the rear housing part is provided with a metallization layer for shielding.
Due to the accommodation of the intermediate portions of the contact lamellas in a rear housing part that is provided with continuous walls between the contact lamellas, the contact lamellas, during assembly thereof, may easily be inserted into the rear housing part.
By providing the rear housing part with a metallization layer, an ideal shielding effect is achieved between the intermediate portions of the contact lamellas without additional components. The metallization layer does not only facilitate the assembly expenditure, but also provides for production of the shield at considerably lower costs.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the continuous walls of the rear housing part extend as tar as into the region of the mating contact portions of the contact lamellas and are received in corresponding recesses in the front housing part.
This measure also reduces crosstalk in the region of the mating contact portions.
Advantageously, the rear housing part has integrally formed thereon a top wall, a rear wall and at least one side wall. Due to this, the number of parts to be assembled is further reduced as the sheet metal shielding plates for the external shield are replaced by the top wall, the rear wall and the at least one side wall. Moreover, an optimum shielding effect is achieved as there are no abutment joints present as in case of composite shielding plates.
For obtaining an external shield also in the region of the mating contact portions, it is advantageous that the top wall and the at least one side wall extend across the front housing part and that a bottom wall connected to the rear housing part is formed in the region of the front housing part as well. As both the top wall, the at least one side wall as well as the bottom wall are provided with a metallization layer, an external shield is easily obtained also in the region of the front housing part and the mating contact portions of the contact lamellas, respectively.
For ground, connection to the mating plug or connector, the bottom and top walls preferably have metallization strips press-fitted therein that are connected to contacts.
When the electrical connector is utilized as a module connector, the bottom side of the rear housing part preferably is provided with pins which also have a metallization layer. These pins on the one hand serve to mechanically fix the electrical connector on the module and on the other hand for transferring the ground connection.